


Raw Emotion

by tealeafling



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Gen, Hospitals, I guess it's fluff??, I'm gonna end up tagging all my fics with that tbh, Pre-Relationship, Sick Character, no editing we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 05:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15430215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tealeafling/pseuds/tealeafling
Summary: “Your dumbass boyfriend’s in the hospital.”“I do not have a—what?“In whichsomeonedecides to eat way too much cookie dough, and his totally-not-boyfriend is worried.





	Raw Emotion

**Author's Note:**

> In case you're interested, in this Modern AU, all the fantasy races and everything still exist but magic itself doesn't.
> 
> Also, since I make a passing reference to it...... here’s all the M9’s majors in this:  
> Caleb: chemistry (it’s like the magic of reality right?)  
> Molly: theater  
> Jester: biology, probably (she’s pre-med, and probably is minoring in art or something as well)  
> Fjord: oceanic science (that’s my major baby!!!!)
> 
> I’m still undecided about Nott, Beau, and Yasha, but their majors don’t pertain to the story at all so it’s fine (also, Caduceus isn’t even mentioned in this because I wrote it before he was introduced but he’s 100% also pre-med)

Caleb Widogast woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing.

 _“Was zum Teufel?”_ he groaned as he fumbled at the device, squinting at the screen.

It was 3:36 in the morning and he had _class_ tomorrow—no, make that today. He had actually fallen asleep in his bed for once, rather than at his desk on top of a textbook, and he just wanted some _sleep, gottverdammt._ And apparently Beau thought it was an acceptable time to call him.

He slumped back down into his bed, throwing a pillow over his head to block out the noise.

The incessant ringing stopped after a few seconds and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Then the noise started up again.

“What could Beauregard _possibly_ want at this time on a _Monday,”_ he muttered as rolled out of bed. He softly padded out into the hallway— _wouldn’t want to wake Nott with whatever nonsense this is._

He shut the door gently and sat down against the wall, scrubbing a hand over his eyes as he accepted the call. _”Was,_ Beauregard, why are you calling me?”

“Your dumbass boyfriend’s in the hospital puking his guts out.”

Caleb blinked, his tired brain not quite comprehending what Beau was saying. “I do not have a— _what?“_ He nearly dropped his phone as the words sank in.

He truly did not have a boyfriend. But there was only one person that Beau teasingly referred to as that.

“Yeah, Molly’s in the hospital. Because he’s a dumbass.” He could almost hear Beau roll her eyes through the speaker.

Caleb felt a wave of panic begin to rise inside him. “What happened? Is Mollymauk alright, tell me _what happened—“_

“Beau, seriously?” a quieter voice came through, as if it were a few feet from the phone on the other end. “Here, give me the damn phone.” 

He heard Beau mutter something unintelligible before the new voice got more clear. “Caleb, this is Fjord. Sorry for wakin’ you this early.”

A small bit of the panic bled away as Fjord started speaking, his voice calm and slow. A very small bit. _“Ja,_ it is fine, can you just tell me what is going on?”

Fjord huffed out a quiet laugh. “Yeah, so you remember how a few nights ago, Jester here dared Molly to eat an _entire_ pack of cookie dough?”

Caleb frowned. “Yes, I seem to remember Beauregard cheering him on as well.” Which seemed just like Beau and Molly, honestly, to tell the other to do something and call them a dumbass for it later.

He heard a muffled voice yell something on the other end of the conversation. “I mean, he ain’t wrong, Beau,” Fjord said, then dropped his voice to a whisper. “She actually seemed mighty worried about Molly, if you’ll believe it. Don’t tell her I told you that. Anyways, Molly woke me up a couple hours ago—worst night of my _life,_ I swear to god—so I took him to the student health center, they figured this was serious, and now he’s at the hospital.”

Caleb sighed. “I _told_ them it was a bad idea.”

“You and me both, Caleb,” Fjord said, a hint of a laugh in his voice. “You should’ve seen Jester’s face—she was volunteerin’ at the health center when we got there, that’s why she and Beau are here now.” He heard another voice yelling something in the background, probably Jester this time. “Yeah, yeah, Jes’, I’ll tell him. Caleb, Jester wants you to get here, ‘cause, I quote— _Yasha’s not here so you’re next in people he really really cares about.”_

His face suddenly got _very_ warm. “Um, alright, I will try to be there soon.” _Sheiße,_ it really was bad luck that Yasha was literally in another country, studying abroad that semester. She would probably not be happy to hear that this was what happened when she left Molly with the rest of her friends.

Caleb hung up after saying goodbye to Fjord. He sighed again. _I will have to email my professor,_ he thought. _There is probably no way I will make it to class at eight._

He reached for the doorknob, then dropped his head to the door. He was locked out, and Nott was a _very_ heavy sleeper.

_Definitely no way I will make it to class at eight._

***

The first thing Molly was aware of what that his entire body felt really clammy. _Gross._ He shuddered.

The second was that he was not in his lumpy dorm room bed, which was definitely the last place he remembered being. He was now in a bed that was not exactly _comfortable,_ but it was better than his dorm.

 _Must’ve been some party,_ he thought, _for me to completely forget it._ It was the only reason he could think of for being somewhere he didn’t remember and for feeling so icky.

He slowly cracked his eyes open and squinted around. _Well then. Not a party._

”Molly!” a voice squealed from his right, and he was practically tackled by someone. “Molly, I am _so_ sorry, this is all my fault, I totally dared you to eat all that cookie dough and I _know_ how rare it is to get sick but I shouldn’t have—“

“Jester, chill out.” A slightly lower voice came from his left. Beau. “He’s not _dead,_ he’ll be fine.”

Jester sniffed. “I know, but I should’ve known not to dare him to do that.”

Molly’s head was starting to ache. He closed his eyes and licked his dry lips. “Could someone remind me what happened?”

“You got salmonella from that shit ton of cookie dough you ate,” Beau said. She almost sounded bored, but Molly could pick out a bit of something else behind her words. Worry, maybe? “It was pretty sick to be honest.”

“Yeah, and _you_ were pretty sick, too,” Fjord said from next to Jester. He shuddered. “God, I’m gonna have to go back into that dorm room eventually.”

Molly smiled. “Well, I’m glad I was able to save the rest of you from the menace of food poisoning.” He opened his eyes again and winked at Beau. “Pretty heroic if you ask me.”

Beau rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever, man. Just, maybe don’t do that again.”

He gasped comically. “What, never eat raw cookie dough again? Beau, you ask too much of me.” He dropped his head back into his pillow as a wave of dizziness washed over him. “Actually, in all honesty, I’m not sure I’ll want to eat it again. This sucks.”

Just then, the door opened, and a head of messy ginger hair poked in.

“I am sorry we’re late, I got locked out and Nott didn’t—oh, he’s awake.”

Before Molly could say anything, Jester immediately jumped up. “Beau, Fjord, let’s let Caleb say hi! We’ll be back soon!” She stared pointedly at Beau across the hospital bed, then grabbed Fjord’s hand and pulled him towards the hallway.

“Wait, Jester, I’m here too—“

“Nott! I, uh, have to show you something! Come with us!” Jester grabbed Nott with her other hand, pulling her out with them. As Beau passed by Caleb, she whispered something Molly couldn’t hear, but Caleb’s face reddened.

The door shut, and the two of them were alone.

“Uh, hi—“

“How are you doing?” Caleb winced slightly. “Sorry, I interrupted you.”

Molly waved his arm that did not currently have an IV in it. “You’re fine, you’re fine. I mean, I’m, um, not great? But not too bad.” He reached up to adjust the pillow under his head. “Bed’s better than my dorm’s, quite honestly. Although it’s not the most comfortable with the horns and all.”

Caleb glanced towards the door. “I could go ask someone for another pillow, if you wish, or—“

“No!” Molly said, maybe a bit too loudly. “No, seriously, I’m fine. Here, just sit down. I enjoy your company.”

The red-haired man sat awkwardly in one of the chairs next to him, glancing down at his phone. “Ah, Jester just texted me that… since I have already emailed asking to be excused from my morning class and they have not, they have… left.” He dropped his phone into his lap and muttered, “That tiefling will be the death of me.” He looked at Molly with a slightly pained expression. “Sorry.”

Molly felt a small twinge of emotion in his chest at Caleb’s tone of voice. “Honestly, Caleb, if you want to just go home, you can, I won’t make you—“

 _”Nein,_ don’t say that.” Caleb’s face grew even more difficult to decipher. “I do not want to leave, I am just… awkward. You know that about me.”

They both stared at each other for a few seconds, and Molly could almost physically feel the sheer awkwardness.

Caleb cleared his throat. “So, uh, how is theater going?”

Molly perked up. _There we go, something to talk about!_ He propped himself up on his elbows. “It’s going wonderfully! I’m sure I’ve told you before that we’re putting on A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a few weeks, and I’m playing Puck.” He wagged his eyebrows at Caleb. “It is a _very_ fun role.”

“I can imagine,” Caleb laughed quietly. “I read it once a few years before.”

Molly sighed. “I suppose I’ll be missing a few rehearsals this week. I’ll need to text the director…”

“Oh, that reminds me, I almost forgot. When I came in, they told me you will be able to leave in a few hours,” Caleb said. “Apparently salmonella goes away even without treatment after a few days.”

“That’s good.” They sat in silence for again for a minute, although this time the tension was much less. At one point Caleb opened his mouth and appeared to be about to say something, then shut it.

Molly coughed. “So how's chemistry—“

“I would like to say something.”

He raised an eyebrow. _What could this be?_ “Please, by all means, go ahead.”

Caleb stared into the darkness outside the window for a second. “Okay. I was— _Gott, sag es einfach schon_ —when Beau called me to say you were in the hospital, I was very…” He waved his hand in the air, trying to think of what to say. “It frightened me. I was very worried.”

“I can imagine,” Molly said. “I’m a very likable person.” He grinned at Caleb, but Caleb only gave a halfhearted smile back. “Sorry. Keep going.”

Caleb nodded. “So, when Beau called, she made that joke she usually makes, where she, uh, said you were my boyfriend.”

At that word, Molly felt like something in his brain short-circuited. _Boyfriend. Oh, Moonweaver help me._ Sure, he had been flirting with Caleb practically since he first met him freshman year, only half-joking. But as much as he sometimes hoped something would, he never really thought anything would come out of it.

He was pretty sure he could guess where Caleb was going with this speech.

Just then, the door slammed open and the two men jumped.

“Sorry to interrupt whatever this is,” Nott yelled as she ran in with Fjord, Jester, and Beau. “Beau texted Yasha and now Yasha is calling, I think you should take this!”

Beau’s phone was open to a video chat with Yasha, who looked… honestly, even to Molly her emotions were never easy to read. She looked whatever the Yasha-equivalent of worried was.

“Yasha!” Molly said, grabbing the phone. “Sorry to bother you with this, I have no idea what time it is over there. I am _so_ glad to see you.”

“Molly, it’s the middle of the day here.” Yasha stared him down through the small screen. “It’s the middle of the night where _you_ are. What did you do?”

The room erupted into yelling as everyone except Molly and Caleb tried to recount their version of the cookie dough incident.

“Yasha, trust me, I had nothing to do with this—““Don’t lie to your girlfriend, Beau! You egged him on—“

Caleb snorted from where he was still seated next to Molly. “Eggs.”

Molly made eye contact with him and winked. _Later,_ he mouthed. Maybe sometime when he wasn’t feverish and might still throw up everywhere.

In the meantime, he sure had a lot to explain to Yasha.

**Author's Note:**

> Did all of the German in this come from Google Translate? Yes. Did all of my knowledge of salmonella come from Wikipedia? Yes. (Do I know that you're way more likely to get E. coli than salmonella from raw cookie dough? Yes. Whatever. Artistic license.)


End file.
